Last updated on September 25th, 2024George Frideric Handel was born in Germany, but he spent a whopping 47 years in London, arriving here when he was just 26. He went on to write some of the world’s most famous operas and oratorios in the capital and became the toast of London town. His patrons included…
Opera & Classical Music
London Opera and Classical Music reviews: Get the London lowdown on all the latest opera and classical music.
Luisa Miller at the English National Opera
Last updated on February 20th, 2020I braced Storm Dennis’s ferocious embrace on Saturday night for a dose of operatic drama in the company of the English National Opera’s Luisa Miller. This is the ENO’s first staging of Verdi’s fifteenth opera and one which I have been longing to see for years. Written when Verdi was…
Alice’s Adventures Under Ground at the Royal Opera House
Alice’s Adventures Under Ground at the Royal Opera House is as mad as a box of frogs. The much-loved children’s tale of delicious nonsense has been condensed into a 55-minute rollercoaster of an opera, written by Irish composer Gerald Barry and directed and designed by Antony McDonald. Anything is possible during this topsy-turvy muchness of…
Northern Chords Ensemble at King’s Place
Last updated on May 1st, 2020The Steinway piano was happily purring away on the King’s Place stage on Sunday night, with virtuoso Daniel Lebhardt on keys. He was in the musical company of his other Northern Chords Ensemble bedfellows, Benjamin Baker on violin and Jonathan Bloxham on cello. BBC New Generation Artist Timothy Ridout and…
Oxford Lieder Festival – Magic, Myths and Mortals
Last updated on March 12th, 2021It’s that melodic time of year again, when Oxford goes into full musical throttle in celebration of classical music and poetry. For two weeks, the city falls under the spell of the Oxford Lieder Festival, which this year transports us to Tales of Beyond – Magic, Myths and Mortals in…
Fantasio at Garsington Opera
Manolo Blahnik, who has taken up a well-heeled residence at the Wallace Collection in London, would feel right at home on the Garsington Opera stage this summer. That’s because its version of Offenbach’s Fantasio offers a powdering of Marie Antoinette (the Sofia Coppola version) with some flamboyant Commedia dell’Arte thrown in. And whilst poor old…
How to get cheap (and free) opera tickets in London
Last updated on September 25th, 2024London opera isn’t just for the well-heeled. Here are some tips on how to see some top productions without breaking the bank including opera, chamber, classical music and song. Oh, and the best bit – some of it’s free. So, shhh: here’s Londoness’s guide to affordable opera and how to…
Everybody Can! Opera | Tosca
Last updated on March 9th, 2019I knew I had witnessed a little magic during the opening sequence of the ENO’S Porgy and Bess last year. Clara (soprano Nadine Benjamin) was singing one of opera’s favourite arias, Summertime, to her babe in arms, and we were spellbound from the get-go. Last Friday, she commandeered the pulpit…
Porgy and Bess at the ENO | Review
Last updated on March 16th, 2019London, why on earth did it take your opera houses so long to stage Porgy and Bess? Thank goodness the English National Opera has corrected this cultural misdemeanour by staging the opera’s first major outing since the 1980s. It’s a sensory feast all round, perfect for opera lovers and novices…
Oxford Lieder Festival 2018
Last updated on January 7th, 2019It was a full house on Friday night at the opening of the Oxford Lieder Festival, the UK’s largest art song festival. And to mark a nation gone bonkers with Brexit, the organisers chose an apt theme: The Grand Tour, A European Journey in Song. Talk about sticking a chorus…